The Young Proposal
by Sky.Fay
Summary: Mori is 'informed' that he should be on the lookout for a future wife, but he isn't too excited about this. Unsurprisingly, Honey is ecstatic and can't wait to get him a girlfriend. A girl stumbles upon the club room and is soon pulled into the crazy place of Music Room #3. (P.S. I realize how sappy the title, but, hey, it OHSHC, so sue me).
1. A Little Young?

"You understand me then? This is not meant to be a burden or a task for you. It is simply something you must do… preferably before you reach the age of sixty five." Akira had ended their discussion on a lighthearted note, but it didn't make the conversation any less serious.

"I understand." The boy stood and walked away then. It was almost time for him to leave for school anyway.

On the way to school he would have been in the mood to converse with his excited cousin about how the day was going to go, but he was too distracted by what his father had just told him. He had never thought about having a girlfriend let alone marrying too much in his life. There were girls that occasionally professed their love for him, but he knew the only reason they really even liked him was because of how the Host Club portrayed him. He never even tried to become close with any of the girls he was set up with at the meetings. Originally he hadn't wanted a thing to do with that club, but because of Mitsukuni he had complied. It had become fun, but he knew he could never date a girl who liked him because of the Host Club.

"Takashi?" Huni set his chin in his palms and stared at his younger cousin from his side of the car (limousine actually).

"Yes?"

"You're usually much more talkative in the morning."

"You tend to be a bit cranky in the morning you know."

"I got a lot of sleep last night and I woke up a while before we needed to go. Is something bothering you?"

"No."

His lie was obvious, so the older one pestered him further.

"C'mon, please tell me Taka-chan!"

"You're not going to give this up, are you?" He leaned his head back on the seat and looked at the little blonde for a moment who shook his head in response to the other boys' question. "My father informed me that I need to begin searching for a wife, or at least become romantically involved with someone. He set out criteria for what the girl should be like."

"Oh…it'll be easy to get you a girlfriend, Taka-chan, let alone a wife! So many of the girls in the club are in love with you!" The only thing Takashi could do was nod and grunt in response to the other boy.

Mori was nearly silent the rest of the way to school. All he could do was sit and stare out the window, going over the list of qualities that his father had given to him. He was attempting to go through the list of girls he knew, trying to find those qualities, and then felt bad for doing so. He was not going to put himself in a loveless (or one-sided) relationship.

It seemed they arrived to school too fast. The morning classes went by painfully slow. The afternoon classes and the lunch period seemed to fly by faster than anything else though. All the while he was discreetly watching some of the girls who may fit the criteria. It was a bit ridiculous to be honest, and he felt like a bad person for doing it sometimes, so by the last class of the day he had given up and decided to focus on it after he was out of high school. He wouldn't have to be in this place for too much longer anyway.

Before he had realized it, it was time to go to the Host Club. Huni had said he was going to find Haruhi after school and ask her about something, he told Mori to go ahead of him and not bother to wait for him. After some minor coaxing, Huni had persuaded him into not waiting up for him. (Actually Huni threatened to attempt to get another cavity if Mori had not complied).

He was the first one in the club room. There hadn't been any distractions for him on the way there and the class he was coming from had been fairly close to Music Room 3. He expected total, peaceful silence, but was instead greeted with the soft sound of a piano being played.

It had been an exhausting day for Flora, so as soon as her teacher said she could go to a music room and play piano she was ecstatic. She had picked the first music room she had seen, Music Room 3. There were flowers and tables everywhere, she thought that was odd for a music room, but ignored the items and searched for a piano. Finally, in the back room, she came across and amazing grand piano. Sitting down, she touched the keys and played a few scales to see if it was in key. Not surprisingly, it made a sound that couldn't be rivaled by any piano she had ever touched before.

These rich people had so much that the vast majority of them were ungrateful. Some of them were practically born into modern day business royalty. She figured some of the people going here might really have some royal blood in them. But she didn't envy them. She liked how she lived for now and knew one day she might live in a small mansion (at the least) as well.

Flora-Celine had been going to Ouran since she got a scholarship to go for three years. She had loved it there for the nearly two years she had been going. The polite people were polite to her and the rude people were rude to her, it was just another high school when you really got down to the basics. But that's only the basics, if you look at Ouran in comparison to normal schools that weren't overrun by curious, rich kids it was a whole other world.

There were deep set rivalries between families which were passed down generation by generation. She swore she saw Kyoya Ootori, a boy in her class whose father owned the Ootori Group, glaring at Botan Yoshida (Botan's father owned a very slowly growing chain of hospitals) every morning. It wasn't like the Yoshida's were of any major threat to the Ootori Group anyway, but she supposed that it was best to get rid of all of the competition before they became competition.

She thought though, that sometimes it was actually quite fun to live in another world and then go home and spend time with her middle class friends. It was just entertaining to watch how some of the students acted. Some of them were so naïve it was painful to watch. That was one of the reasons she thought it was so odd that Tamaki Suoh and Kyoya were close friends. She assumed Kyoya had befriended the poor rich boy to get some leverage in the world. Another person she found odd was the new full scholarship first year, Haruhi Fujioka. The boy was so feminine, sometimes she wondered if he was really a she in disguise.

So as she stopped playing her scales and arpeggios, she stopped thinking about all of these remedial things and began playing. The beginning of the song was the color cobalt blue and faded into a pretty lilac, which built up to an angry red. It was just about to fade off into a cream when she heard someone close the door behind them and step into the room.

An abrupt hammering of minor and augmented chords made the room stand still for a moment.

"Sorry," the both of them hurriedly said, the boy never losing his monotone. Flora stood up hurriedly, staring the ground and trying to hide behind her half-moon bangs. At the moment she wished she never put her wavy, black hair up in a bun every day. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to hide behind her dark hair.

"You're early if-"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone else used this room after school. I'm sorry you had to hear me play, I'll leave now." She grabbed her bag and awkwardly walked to the door.

"Wait." He had such a low voice and he looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before in the school.

"Huh?" Flora stopped in her tracks, her head in line with his upper arm. He was so tall compared to her, about a foot taller in fact.

He wasn't sure why he was still talking to her. At any other time he would have just let someone like her go, but today he was a bit distracted by his fathers' words. "This is the Host Club."

She leaned back to hear him speak and looked surprised. "It sounds like a waste of time, but whatever makes people happy they do, right?" She shrugged and looked up at him, "I think you're a year above me, but I don't know you or your name." She attempted to be pleasant. Most of the time she was awkward and didn't particularly like talking to people, but it wouldn't hurt to be polite to a nice looking rich boy who had to have a certain amount of influence. It was a painful thing to do and she was certain nothing would amount of it, but it was also the only socially acceptable thing she could think to do right now.

"Takashi Morinozuka." It seemed to her that he didn't want to talk to her, but maybe that was just how he always sounded. He was the one who had initiated conversation in the first place. Oh, well…

"Well," she adjusted the strap on her bag and walked out the door, "The next time you find someone in here, don't attempt to tell them what this room is if they're leaving. There's no point in starting a conversation if you're not going to bother to even try to carry it on." She closed the door behind her softly. Her tone had not been harsh, but her words felt like daggers to Mori.

He didn't even know her name, she didn't tell him. A small part of him had wished that she would have and that she would've tried to hold up the conversation as he was no good at doing that. He stepped through the still open door, half hoping she was still there and that she had been joking when she walked out. All he found were confused looking red heads, a cross dresser, and Mitsukuni. He looked at them, emotionless.

"Hey, Mori-senpai…" Kaoru asked suspiciously and took a step closer to Hikaru, "Who was that?"

Mori shrugged in response, the twins advanced on him. "C'mon Mori-senpai," they spoke in unison, their different voices clashing in a good way, "You can't lead us to believe that you were all alone with a pretty girl and didn't even bother to learn her name…" they kept prying and suddenly they both gasped.

"Senpai, you didn't!" Kaoru yelled out.

"We thought you were much more gentlemanly-like than that!" Hikaru fell to his knees amid the dramatics.

Mori was blushing bright red.

"Even if it was only a one-time thing between you two you should at least learn her name, courtesy senpai, courtesy." They clicked their tongues at him and shook their heads. Mori's blush had nearly reached his ears by that time, and he gently pushed both of them back with his hand.

"She was lost." He said crossing his arms.

"Lost in your thoughts?"

"She didn't know this is the Host Club room, she was playing piano in here."

"But you thought she was pretty, didn't you, Taka-chan?" Huni had walked up to him and tugged on his suit jacket. Mori twitched back a little and shrugged, blushing. "Were you thinking about-"

"Mitsukuni." Mori warned.

"What? You don't want Haru, Kao, and Hika-chan to know?" Mori nearly face-palmed.

"Know about what, Mori-senpai?" Haruhi popped her head up behind the twins. "You can trust us to know anything, we're your friends. But if you really don't want to tell us, I get it."

"So can I tell them?" Huni whined up to his cousin. Mori shrugged again, crossed his arms, and turned his head away from them. "Taka-chan's father told him that he needed to start dating because he's going to need to find a girl that'll become his wife soon."

"Soon?" Kaoru looked surprised.

"Didn't you just turn eighteen? You won't need to marry for a while." Hikaru added.

"Oh, no!" Huni shook his finger and his head. "It's a traditional for the Morinozuka family to marry before or while they're twenty three. Since Takashi turned eighteen a little while ago, that means he only has five years before he should marry. Also it's also very… well-liked for people of his family to be in a relationship for a few years before they marry, but that just goes for everyone in the family, not his direct line."

There was a shadow over Mori's face.

"Is that true? Do you really need to get married before you turn twenty three?" Hikaru asked.

Mori stiffly nodded.

With a flourish that was largely unnecessary, Tamaki (followed by Kyoya) flounced through the door. "Good afternoon! I'm so excited to show you all what we shall be wearing today!" The blonde flounced into the back room with his bag and another package.

"He's been especially excited today for some reason." Kyoya pushed up his glasses and walked to the group that had formed around Mori. "Would anyone care to tell me why there was a girl moping down the hall, away from this room, chastising herself? The point of this club is to make girls feel happy."

They all turned their eyes to Mori.

"Do you know who it was?" Haruhi finally asked.

Kyoya nodded and pulled out his laptop and clipboard, he sat in one of the seats. "It was Flora-Celine Azalea Tsukino, that is her full name, she's in second year. Her grandmother moved from Tokyo to New York City when she was twenty and had Flora's father. I'm not sure who her grandfather is as her grandmother never wed and gave her name to her son. Flora's father married an American woman when he was thirty and she was born. They moved to Japan so her grandmother could spend time here with childhood friends. Her family is very upper middle class. She's on a similar scholarship to yours, Haruhi. I'm surprised she didn't know about the Host Club, she has been going to Ouran with Tamaki and I since first year.

"She's ranked second in the class and based on today's test, she'll most likely be ranked first. Because of her lineage she doesn't remotely look like she's from Japan. She's rather short and has black hair and blue eyes. She does have a couple of friends here and she even talks to Tamaki on occasion because they end up sitting near each other what with her name being close in the Alphabet."

"I didn't ask for her life story, just her name," Haruhi sounded exasperated.

"Her father has a blog that's open to all of the public, and you should know by now that I like to keep tabs on just about everyone. Besides, I had to work on a project with her in first year and realized I didn't know anything about her."

"That's shocking." The twins muttered.

"You didn't answer my first question and why does any of this matter to you?" He snapped his device shut with a soft click. They all turned to Mori.

"…She was in here playing piano when I walked in, and then she left." He finally answered.

"I'm sure there's more to this story…" Kyoya pressed.

"Why did I just lash out like that?!" Flora whispered to herself. Her eyes were glued to the floor, so when she bumped into a person she jumped. "Sorry!" She looked back as they began to apologize as well. It was only Tamaki, there was no reason to be too worried, she knew he wouldn't think she was out to get him because she bumped into his shoulder. (Some people there were like that).

However, after she changed clothes, she did practically run to the parking lot in embarrassment. This whole day had gone badly, but nobody wants to hear about that. The girl fumbled with her jacket and helmet for a few seconds before taking a breath. She paused and slowly zipped and buttoned her jacket, strapped on her cobalt helmet and stuck the key into her red motorcycle.

She was home too soon. It's not as if it made any difference though, no one was home to greet her. Her parents were gone on a business trip, and they would be gone for another four months. Her grandma was visiting with friends for an equal amount of time. In other words, Flora easily became bored when she was home. At least she had her mutt to keep her company.

As soon as she stepped out of the garage where she parked her bike she could hear the dog barking inside the giant house. It wasn't even close to being a mansion, but it was gigantic for a family of three and a dog. Attempting to get her mind off of how terribly wrong the whole day had gone, she walked an abandoned trail that started in her backyard and wound its way up a hill about a mile or two and came back down with her dog at her heels. It was nice here. Nobody knew about this place but her, and since she lived a fairly rural area, nobody else even bothered to look for something like this.

The thing she felt the worse about was how she had treated Takashi-senpai. She thought back to her words and how harsh they seemed now. She thought back to his expression. Not much had shown on his face, but the look in his eyes had been something far from indifference.


	2. Wilting Flowers

At about three a.m. Mori woke with a start. He had been having a bad dream. Well, it hadn't been bad per say, but it had struck him. The dream had most certainly not involved a certain black-haired, blue-eyed, pale girl. I'm just joking, of course it did.

His dream had been odd more than anything else. Flora had been sitting in one of the club rooms playing a beautiful song on the piano. Mori was sitting on the long bench with her, admiring how smoothly her hands seemed to move across the keys. Suddenly, the bench seemed to shrink in length, and he was pressed closely to her. Then he realized he had been having a conversation.

At least he thought he had been having one. He couldn't recall now. Either way, he went on talking. It was surprisingly easy and uplifting to have such a nice conversation with her. Her eyes were still glued to the ivory, even as the song abruptly came to an end. She answered him and spoke back to him every time he spoke, but her voice was a broken sort of monotone, and it almost hurt him to be speaking to her in this way. He wanted to see her face.

"Floracy," he finally called her by the nickname she had said some kids at her school in America would call her on occasion. The flouncy, girly word felt nice on his tongue, but it was unfamiliar and almost uncomfortable.

*(Pronounced Flora-see if anyone needed that…you probably didn't, you're all intelligent people)*

She didn't look up. She was slumped over in such a dejected way it hurt him to look at her form. He couldn't help himself when his hand slid under her chin and forced her to look at him. Her face was red and blotchy as if she had been crying for hours. Her eyes were still brimming with water, and there were tear streaks covering nearly every inch of her face. Then he got that weird feeling. This is also the point at which he woke with a start.

After internally panicking, he calmly closed his eyes again and tried falling asleep as quickly as he had awoken. Sadly, for this confused teenager, sleep did not come easily in the slightest.

Back at the commoners' house, there was a girl crying. Her mother had left her a message on the house phone informing her of something which she couldn't find possible. Thinking back to the message, she couldn't remember too much. The only words she remembered were, dead and Sarah. By the time she cried herself to sleep and stopped having nightmares it was three a.m.

Whenever her breaths would become labored in her sleep or she would begin to thrash around, Clarisse the dog would come to her rescue. When she woke in the morning she felt numb. She didn't have any more tears to shed, and she needed to go to school. She pulled on jeans, a sweater, buttoned up her jacket, and left. She had her dress stuffed her bag just like she always did on her way to school.

She tied Clarisse out back and double checked her lead. It was good, the dog wouldn't be able to run away if she wanted to. She didn't bother to put on any makeup like she usually did. She didn't wash her face; it was surprising that she brushed her teeth.

As the teacher stopped her in the doorway to inform her that he knew of her current circumstances, she vaguely remembered parking her scooter and changing in the unused restroom near the lot. It was hard for her to remember now. As she was the last one to enter the room, because the teacher had stopped her, and because she looked to painfully sad, everyone stared at her.

She sat behind Tamaki and stared down at her beautifully carved desk. Her head was still spinning. The light seemed much too harsh. Was it always that bright? Maybe it was the lack of sleep, food, and the large amounts of crying she had gone through, but she had a migraine now. It didn't add or take away from her pain, but it was an annoyance.

She didn't bother to listen to the teacher speak. She didn't really listen to anyone speak. All she could do was sit there in her dress, still trying to register what had happened. It was easier to focus on that than trying to register what was happening now.

Flora thought about herself too. She didn't feel selfish about it for minute though. Her parents were too busy to buy her a plane ticket to go back to America, it was pointless anyway. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go to a funeral. She didn't believe the funeral was for her friend yet, she couldn't believe that. Reality is harsh, and she had always had a tough time coping with it. Her thoughts went to all the times she had contemplated taking her own life. Had Sarah taken her own life? Flora didn't know and she didn't want to think about it. Thinking at all was too much to do right now.

She didn't understand what she was supposed to do. So she closed herself off and became numb again. She tried paying attention to the sound of the rain outside. It was a helpful distraction.

Flora hadn't realized how much time had gone by until Tamaki gently tapped her on the shoulder. He was going to ask if she was okay. She wasn't sure whether her answer for be more sobs of sorrow or if she would scream. She could tell that he knew she was upset, but the words that came out of his mouth surprised her.

"You met Mori-senpai yesterday, correct?" He stopped to look at her for a moment. "Are you…fine?"

She ignored the second question, she thought about the first for a second. "Yes, he was in the Music Room."

Tamaki laughed easily and some of the other girls in the room turned to glare at them. "I apologize if he seemed a bit stand-offish and rude. That's simply in his nature to be a somewhat shy, he couldn't help it." She clung to his words as if they would help her reach the real world again. There were tears brimming in her eyes, and all she could do was nod. If she dared to speak a sob might come ripping from her throat.

"Listen, I won't push the issue, but you should know if you're having a bad day you can always come to the Host Club. I'm sure one of us could cheer you up." He smiled that goofy smile of his, which almost made Flora crack a half-grin. She stared down at her paper and shook her head slowly a few times.

The teacher placed a test on her desk. She had taken that test yesterday, she was sure of it, but it seemed like so long ago. She looked up, blinking the tears out of her eyes and took a glance at it. 100%. A+. Everything correct.

She felt a hand tap her on shoulder and she jerked away from it without bothering to look up to see who it was. "You should be happy now; you are at the top of the class after all." It was Kyoya, she saw his hand motion to her test out of the corner of her eye. "Tamaki is right though, you are welcome to come to the club after school if you are having a bad day. I'm sure Mori-senpai wouldn't mind seeing you again."

"It'd be a waste of my time and of my money." She barely whispered out. The tears were brimming in her eyes again. She looked down at her watch. Only twenty minutes left of class. It was getting hard to breathe properly.

Kyoya didn't press the matter to far either. He walked away as soon as she had spoken. She pulled her glasses away from her face and walked to the teacher. Not even trying to look up at him, she asked to go to as music room. He immediately allowed her to leave. She snatched up her bag and stormed out as quickly as she could without tripping over her Mary Jane's. She was almost surprised when tears came streaming down her face, she didn't think she could cry anymore after last night. She quickly changed and ran to Music Room 3. Once again, no one was in the room when she reached it, but she didn't waste time running to the room with the piano. She pulled her helmet out of her bag and began tracing all of the little lines she could find on it. After a minute or so she heard doors shutting. She kept her eyes glued to the floor. Takashi didn't say a word.

She looked up quickly, and tried to speak without making it obvious that she had just been crying.

"I'm so sorry I was terribly rude to you yesterday…and I-I'm sorry! I don't even know you! I…" She stood and began stumbling to the door, "…sorry." She shuddered in a breath.

His hand reached out to grab her shoulder before he could really think about it. "Wait."

She tried to jerk away from his touch, but it was no use. He was so strong compared to her. "No!" She tried to yell, but it was little more than a hoarse whisper.

"You shouldn't be driving yourself."

She hiccupped, "I'm fine." He moved his hand down to grip her arm and move her to face him. He blushed awkwardly, not knowing to do with a crying girl. Was he supposed to ask what was wrong? Mitsukuni did that sometimes and everything usually worked out okay. He wasn't Mitsukuni, and he figured that this would work, but he tried nonetheless.

"What's wrong?" He looked down at her, somewhat embarrassed.

"You wouldn't care." She spat, refusing to look at him. "Sorry…" she whispered and tried to step away from him. His hand stayed locked on her. She looked up at him again, her bright blue eyes were full of curiosity. She swallowed hard, looked down at the ground, and then back up at him. "My…my friend she's, uh, she's…gone." Flora couldn't get the d-word out of her mouth. "She's been sick for a while, but I didn't really expect this. I thought she was getting better. And…and since my parents are away, they probably won't buy me a plane ticket to America to go to her funeral." She was remembering bits and pieces of the message her mother had given her. She remembered her apologizing and saying that she wouldn't be able to go.

They stood in silence. Flora's face became flushed. She felt dizzy, like she was going to pass out. Her migraine only became worse. She had two decisions in that moment. She could stay and calm down before she had to ride her bike home; or she could ride home now and probably crash. It didn't matter too much to her at the moment, and besides she wouldn't welcomed to just stay and wander the halls of this school. She didn't want to go to the library right now; her sobs would be too loud for such a quiet place.

She chose the second option. It was a stupid and rash decision, but who was there to stop her?

It seemed like only moments passed to when she veered off the road. The road was empty, so no one saw her truly break down. The bike had nearly crushed her left leg, but thankfully she wasn't so lost that she remembered to move herself at the last second. She stood, ripping the helmet off her head and throwing it to the ground. Barely looking at her bike, she noted that it hadn't even been scratched.

She had a small fear brewing in her stomach that someone might pass by and see her. She wanted so badly to pour her heart out, and let all of her emotions go. It wasn't just Sarah's death that was troubling her, though that was the main reason for her breakdown. She wanted her parents back and she wanted her parents to act more like parents. Flora longed to forget all of the feelings and thoughts that Sarah had stopped her from thinking only a few years ago. Those thoughts, without her friend as a loving barricade, came rushing back.

Slowly, as she stumbled to her house while pulling her bike along with her, she listed the reasons why she was upset. It seemed so selfish to her, but she couldn't stop.

_Number one: my best friend is dead._

_ Number two: my parents don't care enough to buy me a plane ticket to America to go to her funeral._

_ Number three: Sarah made me better…she fixed me, and helped me to stop thinking like I did._

_ Number four: I've been thinking like that lately, and now that she's gone I don't know what I'll do…_

"Stop," Flora spoke to herself, "Flora-Celine Azalea Tsukino, you may have just hit a giant milestone, but that's no reason to breakdown like this. You should think…think a bit more positively. You'll go to school tomorrow, you'll be polite to Tamaki and Kyoya if you see them or if they talk to you. And…and you'll do the best in your classes so you don't lose that scholarship. Oh…stop acting like such a child, like such a broken, little doll!

"You won't leave class early to go play in Music Room 3. You'll not speak to Takashi senpai ever again, or probably ever really see him again. Calm down…and stop talking to yourself…." She cracked a small smile when she finished her sad monologue. She had needed to yell for a long time, but could never really find a good time. Now, the things she yelled about weren't actually important to her at the moment, but at the moment nothing really mattered.

Flora was exhausted from the day. She felt as if she was really going crazy. Her mind was going everywhere, but she didn't even know what she was thinking about. She locked the garage and jogged to a special spot in the yard where she had decided to sit with her sketchpad.

She wasn't the best artist at Ouran, but drawing helped her vent so she often did it. After a few minutes of doodling, and erasing, sketching, and erasing some more, she set down the pad of paper, and stared up at the sky that was fading into night.

Eventually she got up and glided back into the house, and shuffled to the kitchen to try to eat something. _Blink. Blink. Blink._ Out of the corner of her eye, Flora could see the phone blinking; there was a message…

"Hello, Flora-Celine senpai, this is Haruhi Fujioka…I work at the Host Club. We… I'm not going to say th-… just wanted to make sure that you were okay. We saw you run out and we know what happened, I'm sorry. I know you won't want pity right now, trust me that wasn't. I don't know what else to say to you…I don't know what that means Tamaki senpai, use words." Every now and then Haruhi would talk to someone who Flora assumed was in the room with him.

"Hey, Takashi, do you wanna talk to Floracy-chan?!" Huni-senpai's happy voice and his use of the weird nickname made her smile. There was a little static noise that came from the phone moving so quickly. "We'll all leave so you won't feel awkward leaving a message!" It was Huni again…

"Uhm… I hope you feel better." She could've sworn that she heard the words "I hope you're safe…" under his breath. His words were stiff and forced, but they made her grin a little wider than she had already been. There was a moment of complete silence, and then the click of the cell hanging up was all that was left of the message.

Flora grabbed the pen and notepad hanging on the wall and scrawled down the number. Maybe it would come in handy someday.

* * *

**I'll be honest, since I'm currently working on two other stories that are just starting, I might not update for a while if I don't get reviews. That's not some selfish thing, I just know that there aren't too many people following my other two stories and I just want to make sure that my readers are happy, and if I have more dedicated readers to one story in particular, I will update that one more. Okay honestly you should probably just stop reading this A/N because it is currently 3 am and I need to go to sleep. So anyway, just review if you want to and good night/morning/afternoon/dawn/dusk/ brunch!**


	3. (Future) Jet Lag

"Stop…Stop it…Bukiyona!" The giant dog fell out of the bed and laid her head between her paws on the floor. "I love you, you stupid dog. Alright…what time is it?" Flora unfolded her glasses and leaned closer toward her alarm clock. **6: 35**.

Suddenly, she remembered, but she didn't cry out or start sobbing. She had cried less in the last two days than she had when she found out that Sarah was sick. It shouldn't have been as much of a shock as it was, but the last that she had heard, her friend was getting better. They kind of fell out of touch after that.

She went about her morning, almost like she usually did, but less flouncing was involved. She stuck her contacts in, got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, packed up her dress in her messenger bag and headed off to school.

-`*'-

Flora sat her desk, finishing up some homework that wasn't due for two days now. She could feel Tamaki's eyes on her, but didn't look up until she was finished. "You kind of remind me of Haruhi." He said at last.

"Haruhi is a guy." She said simply. A very feminine guy, he seemed more like a cross-dresser.

"Well, yes, of course. It's just the way that you're both very focused…"

"What do you want Tamaki? I don't have the money for your club if that's what you're going to ask." She folded the paper into her bag and looked up at him, fiddling with her sleeve.

"Actually, we at the Host Club were wondering if you would think about becoming a maid for us."

"Doesn't the schools' cleaning service do all of that for you?"

"You Americans, you're all so brash." He feigned a bout of fainting.

"Fine, why do you want a maid?"

"Oh," he seemed surprised that she was willing, "Talk to Kyoya, it was his idea." He pointed behind her.

"Hello, Flora-Celine."

"Good Lord, you're creepy."

"I would like to make a proposition…" she nodded, allowing him to continue. "We are willing to give you a job as a maid. You might be paid a certain amount, which we can discuss."

"Why do you _want_ a maid?" She said staring up at him.

"To draw in the male costumers, obviously. I've had that idea since we started the club, and I now see a golden opportunity to put it in action."

"Why me?" Class wasn't starting for another ten or so minutes, she might as well sak questions.

"You show no interest in being a costumer, you're attractive enough, and Honey-senpai stated that he thought it would be a good idea for you to work with us."

She didn't really have anything to do after school, and maybe this would get her mind off of things for a while. "…Sure, I'll work for free today a maybe for a few days more to see how I like it, but I'll quit if it's awful okay?" He nodded with a smirk, and pushed up his glasses, and walked back to his desk.

"Oh, I can't wait to put you in costumes!" Tamaki squealed.

"Wait, what?" Before she could ask anything more, the teacher stood.

"Okay, class settle down, settle down. We have a new transfer student today. Would you like to introduce yourself and tell is why you've decided to attend Ouran?" Flora moved attention to the girl in front of the class.

She was average height with straight brown hair in an angled bob and bright honey brown eyes.

"Hi, I'm Tomoyo Tsukuda, my families third mansion just got finished up a few days ago and it's in the area, so I decided to move into it and thus transferred to Ouran."

"Thank you, please go sit behind Flora-Celine," he pointed in my general direction, "Also, today we will be leaving early due to several severe weather warning." A murmur of excitement and worry rose up.

_Hmmm…the Tsukuda sounds familiar. Well, if her family has three mansions, most likely gigantic ones at that, it's probable that they own a large company._

Today, Flora didn't run away to the club room. Instead she stayed back, waiting for Tamaki and Kyoya. The rest of the class had already run off to their limo's or clubs, they were alone in the hallway, waiting for Kyoya who was having a conversation with the new girl.

"Hmm, I wonder why he's so interested in her. He kept on looking at her during class you know." Tamaki wondered aloud in a dreamy voice.

"I don't know, maybe he's just trying to get higher up in the world and she's one of the keys to his success." Flora shrugged and started toward the club room. She glanced back at Kyoya who had walked away from the girl who looked slightly annoyed.

She was about twenty feet in front of the boys, but she could hear by the tone of the plotting one that he was angry. Flora rushed down a flight of stairs, trying not to trip over her dress, and rounded the corner to the quiet hallway. She stood in front of the doors, debating whether she should wait for the stragglers or not.

After a minute she saw Tamaki skipping down the hall, with a goofy smile on his face, towing Kyoya along with him. She opened the door. There weren't any girls in there yet, thank god, but the rest of the club members were. They were all staring at her.

"Hello, Flora-Celine-senpai, what brings you here?" Haruhi was the first to speak.

"Actually Tama-"

"She's going to be our maid!" The blond popped up from behind her along with his friend.

"What he said." She said walking further into the room.

"Why do we need a maid?" One of the twins asked, borderline snobby.

Kyoya walked past them all and sat down. "She'll help with the profits, she won't be a host per se, but something akin to it."

_Beep! Beep! _Flora felt their eyes return to her as she fumbled to get her phone and open it.

_Mass Text: Funeral tomorrow at 7 a.m._

"…Oh," she whispered and stuffed the phone back into her bag.

"What is it, Flora-chan?" Honey glided up to her, pulling Mori along behind him.

"Oh, um, I just got a text, that was all." She glanced up at Mori, ignoring the conversation that the five others were having.

"What did it say?"

_He's not going to give up, is he?_

"It's just a text telling me when my friends funeral is going to be, but I can't go…"

"Why not?" He asked innocently.

"Well, because my parents didn't buy me a plane ticket and now it's too late, anyway. The service is tomorrow."

"…Oh," he turned his back to her and began obviously whispering to Mori. "We could take you."

"W-what?"

"We have a private jet that's much faster than a regular plane, so it'll be there in time for the service, but we'd have to leave right now. Here, I'll go ask Kyo-chan." He bounded off in the other direction.

"You don't have to." Flora rubbed her hands together.

Mori shrugged and tossed his bag over his shoulder.

"We can go! We can go! C'mon!" Honey ran to the two, grabbed both of their hands and dragged them off through the doors. "Do you have an extra pair of clothes with you?"

"Oh, yes, actually I do." Flora pulled the strap up a little higher.

"There'll be things like toothpaste and brushes on the plane so you don't need to worry about that!" Soon enough they were into the parking garage, and then into a large, black car.

"I'm sorry that we don't have time to stop by your house, but everything will be fine. I'll call so we book a hotel now." He sat across from Mori and Flora. Within seconds he flipped out a cell and put his ear up to it.

"Oh, no!" She whispered to herself in English.

"Huh?" Mori turned his head to her.

"Oh," she seemed surprised that he was speaking to her, "It's just I left my dog at home, and I hope she has enough food. I think she does, and even if she doesn't she knows how to get into it and eat it. I suppose she'll be fine, yeah, she'll be fine." She rambled on to herself. The girl snapped her hairband against her wrist and looked up at Mori. "She'll be fine." Flora repeated herself.

_What am I doing? This all happened so fast…._ She thought to herself.

"So, why do you do the Host Club? I barely know you, but it doesn't seem like that would be something you would really be into." She smiled politely, trying to make conversation while Honey was still on the phone.

Mori watched carefully watched her while she spoke, and then pointedly looked at the shorter one, and back at her. "Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense. Are you two related?"

"Mhm," he sharply nodded and looked out the window.

"How?" She wasn't going to relent until he gave her a real answer and opened his mouth for a change.

"Cousins."

_Ah…so the boy speaks._ She thought, feeling a little callous in the process.

"I only have one cousin, he's my adopted brother though. He's in college right now, but I think he's coming home this weekend." She thought for second and reached for her bag, rushing to get her phone. "I should text him, he'll be really worried. He's, ah….he's really protective of me. This'll probably kill him." She laughed, and clicked at the keys.

_Floraà Eiichi: Hey so I won't be home when you get home. People from school are taking me to America for a funeral._

A few minutes later her phone vibrated violently…

_Eiichià Flora: WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'PEOPLE'? and im sorry…_

_ Floraà Eiichi: they're friends, I don't know…they're rich you can probably google them...and it's ok_

"Who're texting, Flora-chan?" She closed her phone, and looked up at him.

"Just my brother, he's coming home tonight and I wanted to make sure he wouldn't be worried about me."

"Oh, no, is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course," she reassured him. "He just doesn't know either of you so he's a little worried. I'm sure he'd be more worried if he knew you were both boys." She said the last part under her breath.

_Eiichià Flora: Their names. Are they boys?_

_ Floraà Eiichi: Morinozuka, Haninozuka._

_ Eiichià Flora: ARE. THEY. BOYS. _

_ Floraà Eiichi: You're grammar is horrific._

_ Eiichià Flora: They're boys…and they're both older than you. Internet creeper skills didn't fail me this time!_

She pinched the bridge of her nose and hung her head. "What's wrong?"

"Huh, oh, my brother is just being a bit…eccentric. I suppose he has a good reason to be though."

"Why?"

"Well, I am going to another country with two boys that he's never met before." She said rubbing the back of her neck. The only one in the car who noticed Mori's face get dusted with pink was Honey. "Oh, and I have my passport with me. It's a good thing I carry this around with me." She said, stuffing her phone in her bag. The car suddenly stopped, and the doors were opened.

Honey and Mori easily hopped out of the high car, while Flora had a bit of difficulty. She managed, though, and followed the boys into their large home. The three kicked off their shoes, held them, and began walking through the winding hallways of the house.

"I talked to Uncle Akira, Taka-chan, so he already knows we're leaving." Honey said up to Mori, who had begun wavering.

"Hey, Taka," a boy who looked like a younger version of Mori stepped in front of them from around a corner. He looked like he was going to say more, but he was cut off. Flora heard a noise, like knives being thrown, and suddenly Mori grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed her against the wall.

"Takashi-senpai!" She yelped out.

"Sorry," he stepped away from her. She looked for the source of the sound. Another boy, who looked a lot like Honey, had both of his pant legs stuck to the floor by shurinken.

The younger version of Mori, hit the older-looking Mitsukuni on the head, hard. "Chika how could you be so rude to your brother?!"

"Hi, I'm Satoshi Morinuzuka, who're you?" He stuck out his hand politely.

_Well he acts nothing like his brother._

"I'm Flora," she said looking up at him. The boy had to be younger than her, but he had to be about half a foot taller than her.

"Oh, yeah, Mitsukuni called Dad and told him about her. He's pretty excited." He winked up at Mori.

"We need to keep on going." Takashi grasped her wrist as Honey jumped onto his shoulders. It was an interesting spectacle to see short, confused girl, being towed outside by a man with a 'scary' face who had a cute Lolita type sitting on his shoulders.

* * *

**Hey, so, review and I made a stupid joke at the beginning...it has to do with her dogs name...it's not really a joke or very funny at all :P**


	4. Angels of Night

"No, you really don't have to do that. I barely know either of you, I couldn't…" Flora waved her hands, as if shooing Honey away.

"You don't need to worry, Flora-chan, both Taka-chan and I have a lot of money. It won't hurt to buy you clothes!" He was smiling, but adamant. They hadn't even arrived in America yet.

"That's not…It's just the principle of the thing." She was exasperated. There was no use; she couldn't get through to the stubborn guy.

"We're buying you clothes and that's final." Suddenly he was annoyed, scary even.

"Mitsukuni," Mori looked down at the boy sitting next to him, "Go to sleep." Without any argument, Honey nodded once and laid his head on a pillow that was attached to the seat.

"I'm going to take out my contact now." The girl stood slowly and grabbed her bag. "Good Lord he's like a different person when he's tired." She said pushing her large glasses up her nose and untying her hair.

By the time she walked out of the restroom, Honey was fast asleep but Mori was no longer sitting beside him. Instead, he was sitting opposite of his cousin, staring out the window. Only when she sat next to him did he look up at her.

"You look much different with glasses on." He stated. Under different circumstances, say if she knew him well and if he wasn't currently flying her to America, she might say something smart back to him.

"Yep….hey, um, are you fluent in English?"

"Of course."

"…Then, uh, say something in English." She noted that he was much more talkative now more than ever before, and he was slumped into his seat so they were nearly the same height now.

"What?"

"Hmm," she thought for a second, "Oh, I know!" Flora reached into her bag and pulled out a slightly worn-looking book. "It's one of my favorite books, just start reading it aloud."

"You don't believe me."

"Nah, I believe you, I just want to hear you talk some more. That and I'll take any chance I get to get someone else to read this book. It's called _How to Care For the Common Introvert_." She said thrusting into his hands.

"Alright, what's it about?" She smiled, watching him examine the cover.

"It's about a high school outcast, he's really into making films and he meets these two people who are trying to be superheroes in the closest city. He's trying to make a video documentary of them to send in as a college application, while dealing with his own, family, and school problems. I like it though."

"It sounds interesting…" Slowly, as if to tease her, he opened to the first page. "Just think about it; two years from now I'll be free of this place. I'll try not to even consider Hallis as my past, it's been more like a… side effect. Soon enough you'll…"

Flora drifted out of consciousness for a few seconds, trying to wake herself almost as soon as she realized what she was doing. "Sorry, Takashi-senpai, I didn't mean to fall asleep. It's been a long…" She realized that he was lightly sleeping as well. The book in his hands was open to page 102.

_I guess he liked it_, she chuckled. Carefully, she moved the book so the cover would slide into the page he was on. She was somewhat afraid that the spine would be ruined if he kept it open like that. "Flora-Celine?"

"Why do you use my full first name?"

"You don't like it…?" He said, letting the book slip from his hands.

"I'm just not used to it, I guess." She shrugged.

"What are you used to?" He asked after a moment.

"Well most people call me Flora, and my family uses my middle name." She tore a piece of paper from a notebook, marked his page, and tucked the book back into her bag.

"What's your middle name?"

_Good God, now I wish he would shut up._

"…Azalea, it's alright if you use my full name I was just saying…" she trailed off and looked away from him for a fraction of a second. "Are you always like this when you're tired?" She yawned.

"Mhmm," he mumbled, letting his head fall onto her shoulder. Flora froze, but relaxed after a moment laid her head on the head rest, drifting into sleep.

"Flora…" Mori suppressed a slight grin as her eyes fluttered open.

"Yeah?" She yawned in English. "Sorry, I'm not used to speaking Japanese in the morning." Groggily, she stood and looked over at Honey who was peacefully sleeping in his seat still. "Aren't you going to wake him up?" She looked back up at him.

"Why don't you get off first?" He suggested.

"Oh, uh, sure…." She said, unsure of what was happening. Once her feet hit the pavement, and she looked up at the airport looming before her, she felt like she was home. Flora didn't mind the prolonged amount of silence and time that passed while waiting for the other two.

"Let's go." Flora barely turned around to see a grumpy looking a Honey and a bored looking Mori.

"Okay!" Before sprinting off in front of them, she made the wise decision to allow the two of them to lead her, seeing as she had no idea where she was going. The three of them rushed off through the airport, it went smoothly and quickly, and quickly out to a sleek black car waiting for them.

Flora sat in the middle two seats with Mori and quickly told the man where they needed to go. The viewing would be in exactly an hour. Thankfully, there had been a shower in the planes small bathroom, and Flora had changed into her t-shirt and jeans from the previous day. She figured walking around an airport in that haughty dress would be a bit much. Honey sat in the back three seats, muttering about how tired he was and clutching Usa-chan like life support.

"Here," Mori pressed a button on the clean floor, revealing a small compartment. He lifted out the folded piece of clothing and flats. "Clothes…" he muttered, thrusting them into her hands.

"Oh…I, thank you. But," she said checking the size on the tag and realizing it was a high-end brand that she adored, "How did you know what size I was?" She said giving him a crooked grin.

"Tamaki was able to give it to Mitskuni."

_ Oh, of course, Tamaki is the headmaster's son…I always forget about that for some reason…._

She glanced back down at the dress and shoes that she would never be able to afford at this point in her life. The dress was black, of course, with capped sleeves and big brass buttons on one side, and a high collar. The shoes, also black, were made of a satin material and both had a large black jewel broach on the toe. And finally, a bracelet with bronze glass beads and one of those clasps where you put a T-shaped plug through a circle.

Soon, the car pulled up to a looming building with, as Flora presumed, some very nice penthouses inside. The three rushed into the elevator, heading for the top floor. The ride was painstakingly slow. They stepped into a wide and very open room, and she followed them up a small set of stairs not even getting the chance to take in the place. Her mind was elsewhere anyhow.

"This is your room." Mori said flicking open the door. "Be ready in thirty minutes."

"Thanks," she muttered unintentionally sounding a bit rude. He quickly walked away in the direction of his own room she supposed, closing the door behind her. The paisley walls were sparsely decorated, and the cream colored bed sheets, dresser, and vanity looked a bit outdated. "I guess they don't use this place much."

On the bed though, there was a package with everything she could need inside: toothbrush/paste, deodorant, a variety of tiny perfumes, and far more makeup than she would need. She peeled her clothes off of herself and slipped on the dress and shoes. Then, after spritzing a little floral perfume, she sat down at the vanity with her contacts and the makeup.

She was done in half the time she had been given. Flora was barely wearing any makeup, she figured that was the safest way, even if all of the products were supposedly waterproof. Her dress fit beautifully. So, as she had nothing better to do, she slinked out of her room and began blindly wandering.

Heading down the stairs, she began to wonder why either of the two boys would bother to take her. _It couldn't be that either of them like me,_ she thought, _well I know that Honey-senpai and I are friends I suppose. Although, Takashi-senpai and I are hardly _close_. He was so talkative on the jet though. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay either of them for this, or their parents for that matter. I guess I'm kind of roped into that whole what is it called…Host Club thing until I graduate now. I'm sure that Kyouya would totally guilt trip me into doing this until we leave. It's a good thing I enjoy the company of all those boys there…_

** BEEP! BEEP! BUZZ!** Flora's phone urgently beeped and buzzed in her bag.

_EiichiàFlora: I found those boys & their family_

_ FloraàEiichi: yes...and?_

_ EiichiàFlora: They come from a family of martial artists…I didn't take you for one to like the athletic type._

_ FloraàEiichi: I don't have a type idiot :p and I don't like either of them…we're just friends._

_ EiichiàFlora: Do friends travel to another country on a whim to go to a funeral of a girl he doesn't even know?_

"Mitsukuni won't be joining us." Flora jumped a Mori's sudden appearance and snapped her phone shut.

"Oh," she noted his black clothing, "That's alright, but are you sure you want to come?"

A strange look passed over his eyes. "I won't go if that, if I, make you uncomfortable…"

"No!" She shook her hands, "No, no, no that's not it. It's just…I don't want to make you feel awkward. And if I start crying I don't want you to feel, well, uncomfortable."

"Tell me if you want me to go with you or not?" He asked seriously.

She stuttered for a moment. "I, eh…Come with me." She finally stated, confidently. He nodded once, and lead her to the elevator.

The funeral had been nice. As nice as one could be, I suppose. It was casual, and everything that Sarah would've wanted. No one said that, because it sounded too corny, but it was true. The departed girl had been planning her entire funeral for over a year now. Everything had gone smoothly and according to plan. Once, only a short while ago, right before Flora and Sarah had fallen out of touch, Sarah had e-mailed the other girl. In the document were all of the details of it, including the question of whether or not Flora wanted to speak. She did.

"…yeah, so uh, thanks." She swallowed hard, ducked her head, and sped to the back of the room to sit. Mori was looming in the back, politely pretending like he wasn't there, standing behind Flora's chair. There was only one other person speaking, she had only wanted two people beside her mother.

It was an average height boy, with sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes.

"Now we have Mr. Stephen Abel, a friend of Sarah's."

_That name sounds familiar…_

"…I was her boyfriend." He said shyly, stepping taking one final step to be fully in front of everyone. His modest comment earned him a collective, sad chuckle from some of the people.

His speech was similar to Flora's; going in between being serious and being painfully light and nearly funny. It was nice. Everything was nice. Then it was over.

As everyone filed out of the room, Flora gently pulled Mori with her so she could talk to Stephen. He was standing near the front of the room, staring down at his phone.

"H-hello, Stephen?" She was nervous that he might not want to say a thing to her.

"Yes?" He seemed surprised, as his head jerked up and he shoved his phone in his pocket. "Oh, hello, Miss. Tsukino, you're speech was…it was nice." His eyes were full of dull pain. "I'm okay, if you're going to ask me."

"Thanks, and alright. Sarah spoke of you a little bit, then we kind of fell out of touch." She didn't know why she was talking to him, but it felt right to do so.

"Ah, yes, she told me all about you as well. I heard you weren't too fond of going to Japan, though it seems you have a boyfriend now." He said pointedly looking down at their hands. Flora realized she had been tightly holding onto Takashi's hand a instantly pulled away.

"Sorry," she muttered up to him, "And no, he's just a friend from the school I go to."

"Hello," he stuck his hand out to shake, "Sorry, I didn't mean to assume."

"Hello," Mori echoed. "It is fine." Flora stopped herself from smiling at his accent.

"How did you learn Japanese so suddenly?" He asked blandly, just to pass time.

"My grandmother taught me in her spare time, so it was easy enough. I was kind of scared everyone would think I had a really bad accent, but I don't think it was that noticeable. Or maybe no one really cared enough to tell me…." She thought aloud, trying to fill up time with words. "I don't know, how bad of an accent do I have, Takashi-senpai?"

"I have not noticed e…either way."

She shrugged, "We'll figure this out later, I suppose. Well," she looked back at Stephen, "Goodbye." They shared a sad smile for a moment. Flora turned on her heels, lightly grabbed Mori's elbow, and walked out of the building.

"Are we going home now?" She heaved at last.

"If you want to, I suppose. Although, that would make for an extremely tiring trip." He looked up at her, noticing her eyes were red and a single tear was falling down her face.

She swiped the liquid away from her face, pretending it had never been there in the first place. "No, we can stay for the night I suppose. I wouldn't mind visiting one place before we leave."

"Flora-Celine." It was almost a question.

"Yes, Takashi-senpai?" He stared at her hard in the eyes.

"….Don't call me senpai." He stated bluntly. She nodded.

"If I may be so bold to ask, why?" Before another tear could escape, she pretended to itch under her eye and blinked the tears away.

Without answering her he pulled a travel pack of tissues out of his pants pocket. She stared at it for a moment, not realizing he was handing them to her. Somewhat exasperated, he took her wrist in his hand and placed the tissues in her palm. She ripped her hand away and placed the pack on the seat next to her.

"I don't feel as though you should have to anymore." He stared out the window

"Just because you saw…that doesn't mean you have to, doesn't mean I shouldn't call you with-"

"Stop." He said, barely glancing at her.

"No," she piped up, "…but I will, only because personally I don't like having to remember to use honorable all of the time." This wasn't completely true, but she couldn't lose the fight. He didn't speak for a while.

"You're better a piano than Tamaki." He said as they walked up to the penthouse building.

"I know." Flora sounded sure of herself and maybe a tab bit overconfident, but solemn as well. "Why are you talking when it isn't necessary? You can't be tired already, can you?" She asked as he opened the door.

"No," he answered. As they took the elevator up he didn't speak another word, and neither did she.

* * *

**Hey so review and stuff. And, as always, thank you for reading. I hold you all dear in my heart! Oh, and my inspiration for her outfit came from Ted Baker who really is a high-end high-priced designer. His stuff is amazing so go look it up, I've gone to his store on 5th Avenue and it's fantastic in there. I almost bought a dress and this amazing coat, but we were rushing so I barely got to look at the stuff. **


	5. Going Home Leaving Home

"Would you like to go anywhere today?" Mori asked as a very sleepy looking Flora shuffled into the kitchen. Today she was wearing her clothes from Friday, which she had barely worn at all. She yawned, trying to hook the bracelet that they had given her yesterday. He sat next to her, three bowls of oatmeal that he sat on the coffee table in front of them.

"I guess we could go to The Strand. It's a really big bookstore. And…what are you doing?" He had taken her wrist in his hand and was now hooking her bracelet. "Oh, thank you." She said as his fingers brushed away from her arm.

"Okay." She took a bowl and slowly ate while Mori turned on the large flat screen to the news. A few minutes later, Honey came down the steps, looking more tired than Flora had. She looked down at her wrinkly, black tank top, jeans, and combat boots. Thankfully, the large white sugar skull on her shirt didn't have a stain on it, but that was only a matter of time.

"Taka-chan can I talk to you?" Honey whined, stuffing his face with oatmeal that had nice helping of brown sugar plopped on it. Mori nodded and they stood, walking to the kitchen.

Flora scrapped at her food, finishing it and setting the bowl on the table. Her hair was up as usual and her straight bangs hanging over her brow bone. As she was becoming curious as to what Honey and Mori were talking about, the later walked out of the kitchen looking exasperated.

"What happened?" She asked as he slid his hand down his face, heading for the door.

"Nothing, we're going. Mitsukuni isn't going to be joining us."

"Okay!" She jumped up from her seat and followed him into the elevator.

"Yes?" She looked up at Mori over the book she had bought a few minutes ago. Now they were in a small café right across the street from the old bookstore. For a while Flora had felt his eyes on her, but hadn't said a thing.

"Uh," he stuttered, "Nothing." She closed her book with a soft sigh and picked up her bag.

"We can get going now. It was probably a mistake to stay here any longer than nine o'clock." She said glancing up at the clock. It was only 9:13, but they really should get going.

"I suppose…" he didn't want to leave, and that was evident. But if they were going to make it back to Japan before tomorrow started, they needed to get going today.

"We can walk back to the building from here. I remember how to get there. I'm not really sure why we even took a car in the first place." He couldn't really argue as she was already half-way out of the door.

When he caught up to her, he grabbed her arm as casually as possible. She smiled up at him, noticing how tense his whole body was. "Don't tell me that you're scared of the big bad city, Takashi." Flora smirked. He looked down at her uneasily.

"I'd be able to defend us, _you_ don't have to worry." She snorted.

"I'm pretty sure I can defend myself." She slipped pen out of her bag, showing it to him. "And if there was any reason I couldn't, I've got some mace and you on hand." He wasn't scared, just worried for her safety. The short girl didn't look like she could put up much of a fight. "Or are you just looking for an excuse to hold my hand?"

If the boy could be any tenser or any redder in the face, he was. Even so, he held onto her arm, loosening his grip with step they took. "Tell me the real reason Mitsukuni-senpai didn't join us today. I know you wouldn't just leave him, you two are always together." She stopped and slipped her arm out of his, they were only about a block away from the building.

"He threatened to attempt to get another cavity if I didn't leave him." He answered, surprisingly comfortable with her all of a sudden.

"Oh, why didn't he want to come to the book store with us? I don't know what kind of books he likes or if he even likes books, but there is a really nice comic book store that was just around the corner from the…" Her voice trailed off, he was shaking his head.

"That's not it."

"Was he just tired then? Jet lag is pretty ba-"

"Are you packed?"

"…Yes, I put everything on my bed. Well, I…" she played with the bracelets clasp, "Don't you want that dress and shoes and this," she held up her arm, "back?"

"No," he answered, taking long strides to the door. Flora stared down at the sidewalk and then at the floor as they entered the grand building. Mori sat down in the open lounge.

"Our things will be brought down, and then we'll leave."

_EiichiàFlora: When are you getting home? Just wondering…_

_ FloraàEiichi: Probably midnight, we're leaving in a few minutes._

_ EiichiàFlora: I will pick you up. Tell me where to get u_

"Hey, Takashi, where ex-"

"TAKA-CHAN! FLORA-CHAN!" Honey bounded into the room, causing most people to stare. At least they were all just calling him cute. Takashi stood, and she followed. They all began walking toward the exit, while Honey excitedly jabbered on. "…So how has your day been, Flora-chan?" She was pulled out of a pointless daydream by his voice.

"Oh, oh um, good I suppose. I am pleased that I was able to return to the book shop."

"That's good," he grinned and looked over at Mori as he climbed into the vehicle, "Of course, when we get back, Takashi is going to introduce you to his father."

Mori's face lit up in a pretty, pastel pink. "Mitsukuni…" he warned, letting Flora jump into the short limousine.

"Takashi, where will we be when we get home?" He sat next to Honey, across from her.

"391-2, Suzume." He answered dully. "…Why?" His curiosity finally got the best of him.

"My brother is going to pick me up, he'll probably just wait out of the street. He only likes judging people from afar."

_FloraàEiichi: 391-2, Suzume._

_ EiichiàFlora: k..txt me when you get home…actually, txt me whenever ur awake every hour_

_ FloraàEiichi: Eiiiiiiiiiiii…_

_ EiichiàFlora: DEAL WITH IT._

The car halted to a stop. For a second, Flora's mind jumped to the worse conclusion; they were being robbed, kidnapped, the driver had just died or all three.

"We're here!" Honey yipped, stepping out of the car as someone held open the door on one side. She was snapped out of her bad thought at once. She was led out to the private airstrip by the men, slipping in and out of her own daydreams.

Their small bags were hauled onto the plane behind the three. The entire time Honey was chattering on about remedial things to Mori while Flora remained silent. Since the day had started the girl had been lost in her own thought.

"Flora-Celine…?" Mori asked at last. They had been on the plane for nearly an hour in complete silence, as Honey had fallen asleep as soon as the plane had taken off. She snapped her head up look at him.

"Yes?" Her phone's screen lit up.

_EiichiàFlora: We're going to have a talk about just getting up and going with strange men on private jets when you get back._

"How are your studies going?" He asked stiffly.

She raised a knowing eyebrow at him. "I'm first in my class, of course." He nodded, but said no more. "What do plan on studying in university?" It was an easy and simply conversation starter to fill the dead space.

"Jurisprudence, the study and theory of law."

"I know what it is, but that's interesting." She tapped her phone against her lips. "What do you plan on doing with your life?" Haphazardly tossing the phone into her bag on the floor, she set her chin in her palm and blissfully stared out of the window.

"That depends on-"

"Not the job you want. What do you want to _do_ with your life?" Her hand snaked up to casually wipe away a few tears threatening to spill over.

"I'm going to marry when I'm twenty three. I…I don't know." He sounded almost as if he was realizing something.

"That's an odd personal goal for one to have. Marrying when you're twenty three." She specified.

"It's a family tradition."

"Oh," she nodded, "Okay that makes sense then." Her phone violently vibrated.

_EiichiàFlora: How much longer till you're home?_

_ EiichiàFlora: Should I tell your parents about this?_

"Hmm?" He mumbled aloud to her.

"It's just my brother. I can understand why he's worried, but I'm a bit worried as to what he'll say when I get home." A slight chuckle escaped her mouth.

"Oh," Mori nodded and stared out of the window.

"Do you have any idea how much longer it will be until we're home?"

He pulled out his phone and flipped it open. "About eight hours."

"Thanks."

* * *

**This is so late and short and I'm so sorry, but I love you all! Also, if anyone can think of a better name for this I would GREATLY appreciate it! I'm not the biggest fan of the title, but, hey, if you guys like it, so be it. But if anyone out there is awesome at naming stories, HELP ME PLEASE. Leave it in the reviews or PM me, I think anything will seriously be better than this. And, I throw in a little incentive; I'll mention you and stalk of YOUR fics telling people to read them!**


	6. Falling Birds

Flora had texted Eiichi every hour, as promised, though he never responded. Only once on the long trip did he send her a simple _K_. She was sure that he would be furious with her, and tell their parents, and everything would go downhill from there.

She had only allowed herself to sleep for about twenty minutes at a time. The time in between her naps she did homework. Honey had been sleeping the entire time, and about four hours into the trip, Mori had fallen asleep.

Flora leaned her head against the window, going over the past year in her head. The third term was nearly up. It had been amazing how much she had improved with her Japanese in the past year. She hadn't been given much notice when they left for the country, and therefore only had about two months to load up on Japanese and get good enough to get into one of the best schools. Before this she had attended a plain, old public school, but she decided that if she really wanted to get anywhere in this world, she should at least try to get into a private school.

The window fogged up from her breath. They had moved sometime near cherry blossom season, though she had been inside so much, studying, she never actually saw them. Sure, there were pictures that he brother and parents shoved in her face, calling her lazy for never leaving the house.

She clicked open her phone.

_EiichiàFlora: How soon?_

Her eyes scanned the darkness outside of the plane.

_FloraàEiichi: Only 20 min now_

There were lights dotting the ground below, some bigger and some smaller.

"_Please prepare for landing._" A smooth voice chirped over the two small speakers.

_FloraàEiichi: Maybe sooner than that. Landing now._

Mori and Honey were both blissfully unaware.

"Takashi?" She called softly. "Takashi, wake up!" The second time she a bit more abrasive. Honey stirred and turned to his side, tugging Usa-chan closer to his chest.

Mori, startled out of his sleep, jumped, looking shocked for only a moment before his head went back to its normal deadpan.

"We're here." She said as the plane glided down the runway. They grabbed their things and ran out of the plane; Mori was holding Honey like a child and buckled him into the black car. They sped down the roads and to their house.

Flora jumped out of the vehicle and stretched.

"My brother is here, so can you just show me out and…and that'll be it I suppose."

Mori nodded.

The first thing he did was set the sleeping boy down in his room, and continued on.

"Takashi?" Mori stopped short and turned to his father. "Oh, hello, you must be Flora-Celine. Honey and Satoshi have both spoken of you. And of course you know my son Takashi."

Flora grinned and bowed her head. "_Hai_, it's nice to meet you. You were so kind by allowing me to go to…to go." Tears almost welled up in her eyes, but she stopped herself. Her eyes were drooping, she was so tired. She needed to get home.

"Are you driving home?"

"No, sir, my brother is going to drive me. I can't drive a car anyway." She easily laughed.

"Alright then, I won't hold you. You are showing her out, Taka?" He asked.

"Yes."

After another nod and another Thank you, they began through the winding halls again until they exited the main gates. There was no one on the street. Not a single person.

Flora dialed Eiichi. No answer. He was probably in the car now, she thought.

"He's not answering."

Mori didn't say anything, but only glanced at her. She stuffed the phone into her pants pocket and stared at the ground.

They sat in a comfortable silence for only about a minute before a car came rolling up the street. The driver looked a little lost. Flora recognized him though, and waved one of her hands in the air, motioning to him.

He easily pulled onto the curb, not bothering to get out of the car. Mori observed the man. He had the same dark hair as Flora, but wasn't nearly as pale. His hair, cut into a messy shag had streaks of copper in it, and his eyes were dark and focused.

Flora smiled at her stern looking brother, but turned to Mori. "Thank you so much, Takashi-senpai." She bowed her head, but didn't get to see his expression, turning to jog to the car.

He raised a hand up as if to wave, but put it down.

"Can we just put this on the 'List of Things Flora Shouldn't Do but Does'?" Eiichi finally spoke once they had pulled a good distance away from the house.

"Oh, c'mon, I know them from school…kind of."

"What do you mean ' kind of'?!" He didn't seem overly upset, but was playing it like this was the end of the world.

"Okay, I'll admit that it was kind of a rushed decision, and it probably seems like a terrible happening from _your_ point of view." He didn't say anything. "I promise to not go off in private jets to other countries with acquaintances." She pouted.

"Just don't let it happen again." He said, almost cracking a smile.

"So how much did you find out about the two in your cyber-stalking?" She asked to fill the space.

"Well they both come from very rich families that are connected, but I don't remember how. I think one of the families protects the other. They're both extremely rich, obviously. Both of them have fairly good grades, not as good as you, but good enough, I suppose."

"Anything else?" She ventured.

"No…no." He didn't sound honest.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," his voice went up an octave.

"Eiichi…" She whined.

"Fine…" he sniffed, "They're both in a Host Club."

She raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So, they're both just messing with you so you'll go to that club, waste money, and fall for one of them."

Flora laughed. "I seriously doubt that, and I seriously doubt that I'd 'fall' for either of them. Honey-senpai is too much of a kid, and Takashi is too codependent on Honey-senpai."

He didn't say anything for a moment, and looked like he was thinking. "Why didn't you use an honorable for Morinozuka? _And_ using his first name?" He pressed.

Flora stared out of the window, only half listening to the blabbering twenty five-year-old.

"I just forget sometimes. I'm new here, remember. And he asked me not to." She didn't feel new in Japan. She had been in the country for nearly two years, and was fully accustomed to the food, the melon ice, and the people.

"Mhmm…" The rest of the car ride went on with a settled silence.

A few hours late Flora was changed into pajamas and Eiichi was resting on the pull out futon.

"Eiichi?" She was almost asleep, but needed to ask something. He murmured something so she went on. "Would you have done this to go see your parents?"

He groggily opened his eyes and sat up. "Shouldn't you be asleep, Flora?"

"I slept a little on the plane and on the way here. I mean I'm tired." He settled back onto the bed. "You didn't answer my question." She saw him barely shrug in response. "Please, answer me."

"Those boys were very kind to take you there, you know."

"I know, and I barely know either of them."

"How did you meet them?"

She knew what he was doing, but played along. "I was playing piano in what I thought was a music room, it was actually the Host Club, and Mori-senpai walked in. I was kind of rude to him, so I went back the next day and apologized. I was kind of upset that day because it was the morning after I found out, and one of the guys there knew why, so they just brought me to New York." She was filling space, hoping that he would just cut her off and answer her first question.

"Tell me about New York."

"Well, we got there and I fell asleep. They bought me an outfit for the…for it. Today we went to The Strand, and then home."

"Mhmm…."

_He's not going to answer._ She decided, giving up.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_ _SMACK._

Flora sat up in bed, rubbed her eyes, and almost lied back down before she realized she had school. She flailed out of bed, rushing into her bedroom and flipped on the shower. While it warmed up she jogged out to her room and pulled out grey jeans and a sweater. She neatly folded up her dress and put it in her bag. Ten minutes later she was out of the shower, and nearly out the door with a piece of toast in her mouth.

"Flora?" Eiichi called from the couch as she opened the door.

"Yes?" She turned to him, still in a hurry.

"Yes." She wasn't sure what he meant by that, but nodded and ran out of the door.

The drive to Ouran that morning was quick. She arrived at the building just as Tamaki was arriving in a limo. She sprinted to the bathrooms and changed. Pulling out two old hair ties, a sock that had been cut, and a few bobby pins; she pulled her hair up into a nice bun. She rushed out of the empty room the bustling halls and to her first class.

There were whispers of Mori, and there were whispers of her. She couldn't ever hear what any of the girls were saying, but she imagined it wasn't the full truth. Maybe this was a lot like school back in the States.

The class went by easily, and soon she was down in one of the courtyards, crossing to the other side of the building. A yelp rang out from one of the windows above. Her eyes flicked up. There was a porcelain bird falling from the sky.

The bird, about the size of a wren, was painted in pretty shades of blue and purple. Its wings were outstretched, one a little longer than the other. Its wings and feathers were defined, a looked too real to be fake, but it was shiny. It had terribly bright, grey eyes that were frozen, but alive. And it was falling. Fast.

Flora made a split second decision to do catch the bird.


	7. Ceramic Blood

Mori's hand struck her arm before he realized what he had done. The resulting shock shattered the bird in her hands. His eyes widened with horror at what he had done. There was blood dripping from her palms. She swallowed and looked at him. Everyone was staring. Tears welled up in Flora's eyes.

He opened his mouth to apologize, to say something, but she stopped him. "I'm fine." A small drop of blood hit the cobblestone and she grimaced. Like a fish trying to breathe, he opened his mouth again, but again she stopped him this time by turning and quickly walking back into the building.

Everyone was still staring. Mori turned his head to casually glare at them. They all quickly went back to what they were doing and ran off to their classes. He did the same, but couldn't focus as he paced down the hall and slumped into his seat. There were whispers drowning him. He hadn't meant to do that. If he had known she was there, well none of this would be happening.

Guilt pounded in his ears, and the teachers' voice became distant.

Flora rushed down the halls, holding her hands out in front of her. Not thinking, she raised a hand to carefully wipe a tear away before it could truly escape, but felt hot blood smear under her eye. She stopped and leaned against the wall to catch her breath. The infirmary was on the opposite side of the giant complex, and she was only three quarters of the way there.

"Flora-senpai?" Her eyes rose up to Haruhi. "Are you alright? Your hands are bleeding."

"I know," she gulped in a breath and stood up straight turning her back to Haruhi, "I'm going to in nurse now." And she was running again.

She tried numerous times to open the door, but with her hands, she didn't want get blood everywhere. Finally she gave up, and knocked.

"It's open!" A women called from inside.

"Yes, but I cannot open it!" Flora yelled back. The woman didn't say anything. "I'll get blood on the door if you let me open it! I kind of figured that would be a bad thing!"

Within seconds the door was opened.

"Are you okay?"

_If I was would I be here?_ She wanted to ask. "My hands are bleeding." She held out her arms for the woman to examine. "And I'm pretty sure there's blood on my face."

"Oh my…you're going to need to go to the hospital, we aren't certified to do stitching and things like that. And you're going to have to tell me how this happened, and a parent or guardian who I'll have to call." Flora nodded at the back of the woman's greying head and sat down on a crinkly cot, as the nurse fetched a warm towel to clean her up with, and to call the hospital.

"An ambulance is on its way." She pulled up a chair in front of Flora, pulling a dripping towel out of a tiny bucket on the floor. She gently wiped under Flora's eye. "Now, you need to tell me what happened." She pushed the towel back into the water and pulled it out again, and ringed it out.

"I was in the orchid courtyard, and someone dropped a little, ceramic bird from one of the windows. I tried to catch it, well I did catch it, but…but, um, Morinozuka-senpai, who was only a few feet in front of me turned around really fast. He was trying to hit it or catch it, I think, and ended up hitting it in my hands. It kind…it just sort of shattered in my hands. It was an accident though! I doubt he would be so cruel as to do something like that!" She rushed through the story, trying to breathe as the nurse pressed the warm cloth into her hands.

"Okay, so you're sure it wasn't on purpose."

"No, I know it wasn't. He tried to apologize, but I just started walking away to here."

"He still should be punished, and probably will."

"Well that's not fair. Shouldn't I be the one to decide whether or not he get in trouble?!"

"…I," the woman's face wrinkled, "Well I suppose if you really don't want to get him in trouble. Headmaster Suoh does seem to like the boy, so I'm sure nothing would come of it even if I told him the truth. As long as you're sure he didn't do this on purpose. I see plenty of girls who get hurt by their boyfriends-"

"W-w-wait! He's definitely not my boyfriend. I barely know him!"

The nurse looked surprised. "I apologize then." The phone rung, and she raced to get it. "Okay…thank you, of course. Flora-Celine, the ambulance is here." She led the girl to the front of the building, where an ambulance was in fact waiting. A sleepy looking driver was at the wheel. Flora thanked the nurse and climbed aboard. They didn't really want or need to do anything with her on the way, so she waited, hiding the fact that her hands were in such pain and she was beginning to bleed again. In only a few minutes they arrived at the hospital. She had to explain what happened again, this time making Mori less involved.

As soon as her hands were stitched and wrapped up, Eiichi came bursting into the room. "FLORA!" He engulfed her in a hug, which she almost attempted to return. "Oh my god, what the hell happened?!" He asked once the doctor had left.

"Eiichi, it's fine I just had an accident with a ceramic bird. It fell out of a window, and I tried to catch it. It ended up shattering in my hands." It was to skip the part where Mori was the reason it had hurt her.

"Oh no, how you going to play piano now?" He stared at the bright white bandages on her hands.

"My fingertips aren't in too much pain. But, yeah, I'm too scared to do anything with my hands right now." She faked a cough and stood. "Well, we can go now, so let's… go."

"Yeah, you have to go back to school right?"

"For what?" Flora followed him out of the room and down the hallway to the main lobby.

"To get your stuff, and your bike." He heaved a fake sigh. "Uhhg, AMERICANS."

"Shut up, at least I plan on having a real job when I grow up." He sighed again, and signed a few release forms.

"I do have a real job Flora-chan. Just because I prefer to work alone doesn't mean I don't have a 'real job'."

"You didn't have very many friends in high school, did you?" She pondered aloud as they excited the building.

"Being blunt today, I see. But, no, I didn't have very many friends. I was pretty quiet and reserved. I mean, I guess I still am." She snorted. "I've known you since you were a baby, so it's easy to talk to you. You'd be surprised how hard it is for me to just become friends with strangers I find on the street." He shrugged as they fell into the car.

"I believe Mori-senpai has a bit of explaining to do." Kyoya didn't look away from the wall.

"Does this have something to do with Flora-senpai's hands bleeding? I overheard some kids talking about it, but I figured it was nothing." She murmured from a table.

"Well…?" The twins pried.

"I…" Mori glanced up at Honey, who was resting on his shoulders.

"Yeah, what happened, Taka-chan? A girl told me she saw you hit Flora-chan's hands, and then there was blood."

"…Umm…"

"Well c'mon, Mori-senpai." Hikaru whined.

"Yeah, we don't have too much time before people will start coming." Kouru added, crossing his arms. "Did you hit her for no good reason, or what?"

"That's not what happened. There was this bird that fell from one of the windows. I didn't know she was behind me, and she caught it before I realized what was happening. It shattered in her hand, and then there was just a lot of blood. It was an accident." He kept his eyes on the ground.

"She's fine," Tamaki spoke softly from the back of the room. "I heard, and knowing that you would never dream of doing something like that to Flora of all people, I checked to see if she was in the infirmary."

"Well…?" Kouru went on. "Was she there or what?"

"Oh, no, by the time I got there she was at the hospital."

Mori perked up. "She's in the hospital?"

"Yes, I'm fairly certain she needed stitches." He went on, not really paying attention.

Mori's breath caught in his throat, but before anyone could notice, he swallowed hard and sat down on one of the couches. Honey climbed off of him.

"Are you okay, Taka?"

He nodded twice.

"No, you're not. Is it because Flora is hurt? I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

"It was…if I had just-"

Just then about fifteen girls came rushing through, all giggling and talking far louder than necessary. When they saw Mori sitting on the seat, they became quiet. Though his back was to them, it was obvious as to what was happening. Even Tamaki's smooth-talking couldn't avert their gazes.

"What's for dinner?" Flora slumped into a stiff chair at the long dining room table. "I don't know!" Eiichi was in the living room, and they could barely hear each other. "I thought you were cooking!" He paused. "And don't pull any of that 'You sexist pig' crap! You promised you would make it!"

She shuffled out of her seat and muttered. "Fine…"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" He didn't sound mad, and even if he had heard her, he wouldn't be mad.

"I SAID OKAY!" She flung open the fridge and pulled out cold potato soup. As it was heating in the microwave, the house phone began obnoxiously ringing. Flora snatched it up and pressed to her ear. "Hello, Tsukino residence."

"Moshi moshi, Takashi Morinozuka desu. Flora-san, onegai shimasu?" She smiled adjusting the phone so it didn't put so much pressure on her hand.

"Moshi moshi, Flora desu."

The line was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry for what happened, I…I wasn't paying attention."

She tried laughing, and opened up the microwave as Eiichi sauntered into the room.

"Really it's fine."

"No, it's not."

It had been an accident, but he seemed so guilt ridden. She shook her head and stared at the wall. "Listen…it's alright, you'll see my hands tomorrow and realize it isn't that bad. I have to go now, so bye!" She didn't even hear what she said as she hung up. "I don't really like talking on the phone. Is that weird?"

"Who was that?" Eiichi didn't look up from the book he was reading, and sipped at a spoonful of hot soup.

"Oh, just Takashi-senpai. I…I guess he just heard about my hands, and wanted to know if I was alright."

"Are you alright?"

"No."

"Then why in the world did you say you were fine?"

"Because."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I don't like making people worry, I guess."

"Why would he worry?"

"Because we're friends." She answered flatly. He snorted.

"Your sales were a little down today, Mori-senpai." Kyoya stated coolly to the back of the older boy's head. "Just try not to injure any more girls in front of everyone tomorrow." Mori kept his eyes on the ground, and said nothing as he walked out with Honey yawing behind him.

* * *

**Hey, so sorry for kind of disappearing for a little while, but if it makes you feel better you are the first fic I've updated in like the last twenty or some days (Good god I don't even know how long it's been). Yeah, and I'm sure the Japanese stuff I put in there is probably wrong, so correct me if it is annnd...revieweth please. **


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